LKT to host “72 Fest” competition

With only 72 hours to create a film, Lambda Kappa Tau is putting its filmmaking chops to the test during their annual 72 Fest from May 3 to May 5.

LKT is a co-ed media production society that was founded at Towson University in 2008.

LKT Alumni Relations Chair Corey Johnson said 72 Fest participants will divide into teams of five — not including actors — and will have to write, record and edit a film.

“There will be special criteria that the teams have to follow when making the film,” LKT Co-Production Chair Lauren Flynn said. “We will have a special screening the following week for all of the films made.”

At the end of the 72 hours, a panel of electronic media and film majors judge the films and give out awards to the filmmaker teams, such as “Best of the Fest,” “Best Sound,” and “Best Writing.”

According to LKT’s website, the group aims to give media students experience outside of the classroom.

Johnson shared how he expects this year’s 72 Fest to be the biggest one yet because LKT has pushed its marketing around campus.

“The new class that has just been introduced into LKT is very production-oriented,” Johnson said. “I think a lot of them will be creating teams [for this festival].”

The festival is just one of many that LKT hosts throughout the semester. The group is also known for its 48 Hour Film Fest which imposes a similar time limit on its participants, Halfway There Film Festival which occurs mid-semester, and Shadow Week & Weekend which allows members a real on-set experience through an outreach program.

LKT is also known for its creative philanthropy efforts. In the past, the group has held a Challah4Hunger event in which they baked challah bread to raise money for social justice causes, as well as their Peanut Butter and Jelly Drive where they made sandwiches for homeless people in Baltimore.

72 Fest isn’t limited to just EMF majors. LKT includes students from an array of disciplines, from psychology to environmental science and more, and allows anyone to try their hand at creating a film and meeting new people in the process.

“This allows people who have a common interest in film and creating media to collaborate for a weekend and create a cool video,” Flynn said. “There are people who aren’t film majors who are interested in it and I hope they come out for this and have the chance to create something awesome.

Johnson said he has gained a lot from participating in the film festival. During his first one in 2016, he and his friends created a film called “Creamed Potatoes,”which is still available on YouTube. Since then, they’ve created their own production company called Creamed Productions and have made over 15 films.

“This is an opportunity for people to gain really valuable experience in a low pressure setting and gain aspects of real world production, like time management, scheduling, and what we can accomplish with what we’re given,” he said. “It’s a great way to meet people and network.”

The event is still open to all Towson students to attend and participate in, and teams can sign up as a group at lkttowson.org.